By Tiffini Countaway

 

“Keep your hand on the rail!” 

 

These were the words that I heard as a child from my father every time I attempted to walk down a flight of stairs.  He always made sure I was paying attention and holding on when I went down so I wouldn’t fall.  From a child’s point of view stairs are a perfect plaything, but from a parent’s perspective they can be dangerous.  One miscalculation or a moment of distraction could turn into a bump on the head or a scuffed-up knee and plenty of tears.

By Tiffini Countaway
 

During the Thanksgiving season, we take time to reflect on things for which we are thankful.  We usually start with family, friends, health, job - and thus begins our list. 

by Gabe Reese
November 13, 2006 

 

“He hath made everything beautiful in his time....” Ecclesiastes 3:11.

 

It came to me in an 8th grade Earth Science class. I’m an ESL (English Second Language) para for immigrant students at our public school and we’re learning about the formation of minerals. God’s creation never ceases to amaze me and I found great inspiration in the way He makes crystals.

 

By Shirley McDonald

 

My grand-dog Biggio, named for the Astros player Craig Biggio (hey, this is Bradley’s dog), is 50+ pounds of lovable, handsome English bulldog. He is stocky, with a huge chest and a massive jaw. Most of the time his bottom teeth are visible, adding to his ferocious expression and appearance.

By Theresa Huff

 

With today's emphasis on healthy eating, why is it that fast food or soul food or comfort food - with all that fat, calories, and added cholesterol - sounds so much better than green veggies and tofu?  The sound of red beans and rice cooked with ham and served with a side of heavily buttered cornbread sounds so much better than grilled chicken and steamed vegetables.  Healthwise . . . not so!  Even though we tend to lean toward all the “extras,” to be healthy there is a balance we need to maintain—and likely some things we need to sacrifice.  This is not our idea of fun, but it can become a necessity.  It can become a life or death situation.

By Alicia Becton

 

I did something this year with my quiz teams that I’ve never done before.  Since the BQE was at our church in March, we only traveled out of Tennessee for the North American Bible Quiz Tournament in Kansas.  So I promised an extra fun day and took everyone to Six Flags in Louisville, Kentucky a couple weeks after nationals.  Out of eight quizzers only a couple of them had ever been to a theme park before. (Sadly, Opryland left Nashville about 10 years ago.) 

By Kent d Curry

 

On the way to church one Sunday morning last summer my wife mentioned that gas prices, after leaping over the $3 a gallon mark, then zig zagging like a drunk steering a speed boat through rapids, had finally stabilized. The price hadn’t changed recently, she noted.

 

By Tiffini Countaway

 

I was done! It was never going to happen, and I was tired of trying. 

 

 
By Randy Bailey

 

I watched a special on the Discovery Channel last week about a four-mile swim. Then immediately the racers had to climb on their bicycles for the 112-mile bike race. Can you imagine swimming that far and then climbing on a bike and peddling for 112 miles? And that was not the end of the competition. The racers also had to complete a 26.2-mile run once they had finished the bike race.

 

By Theresa Huff

 

“A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver.” (Proverbs 25:11)

I have always thought this is one of the most beautiful scriptures in the Bible. It's so awesome when you are feeling down for someone, just out of the blue, to say “Hey, I love you,” or “I'm your friend and I'm here if you need me.” Just one little phrase can change your whole perspective on life! It's kind of like biting into that freshly picked, crisp apple with its flavor bursting in your mouth - mmmmmmm!

Then I got to thinking (and sometimes that can be very dangerous) about the meaning of “fitly.” So I went to the dictionary and here is what I found. It means, “In a proper or suitable manner,” or “at a proper or suitable time.”